West Virginia Democrat. [volume] (Charles Town, W. Va.) 1885-1890, 1887-11-04
EN-. SENATOR ALLEN G.. THUR
MANS FAREWELL AD-
DRESS.

We print some extracts from the
speech delivered at Kenton, Ohio, Oct.
22nd, by the man most trusted ana most
loved by the Democracy.
THE SOLID SOUTH.
After some personal "reminiscences
Mr.. Thurman enlarged upon nation
al issues
while denouncing the South for
being solidly democratic they are
striving with all their might, with
all their power. to make the North
solidly republican, in order by its
means, it being the strongest sect
ion of the Union, to govern this
country forever and forever, or at
least as long as they can do so by
the use of such means.
Now, l say, there never was any
thing more unpatriotic than that.
If it is wrong to have the South all
of one party, it is equally wrong to
have the North of one party. One
is as much sectionalism as the other
every bit as much sectionalism.
And therefore when these men say
that it is crime to see this solid
South, they condemn themselves,
who are engaged day in and day out,
night in and night out, in creating
and maintaining solid republican
North. (Applause.) But, my
friends, what is this sin Of the solid
South about which we hear so much,
which awakens ghosts that disturb
the sleep of Governor Foraker ?
| Laughter.) Which even raises COB
lins and hobgoblins dire, that shake
the GOODNESS of even my steady
friend, John Sherman ? daughter.
What Is it?
WHO MADE THE SOUTH
Who made the solid South
That is aquestion l want these peo-
pie to answer. That is a question 1
want you to think about. Who
made the solid South Before the
civil war the South was not solid,
and neither was the North. Ken
tucky all the time or nearly so;
Tennessee, the greater part of the
time; North Carolina generally
Georgia almost always; Florida the
greater part of the time; Louisiana
the greater part of the time, were
steady and reliable whig States.
Nearly half the Southern States cast
their votes for whig candidates
against the democracy. There was
no solid South; and neither was the
North solid State after State voted
the whig ticket. But even New En-
gland, New Hampshire and Connect
icut could be relied upon as demo
cratic States almost as much as
Kentucky can now. New York was
nearly always democratic; New Jer-
sey; Pennsylvania was once the
keystone State Of democracy, and
Ohio, you know it. has voted the
democratic ticket for President near
ly as many times as it has voted the
other ticket. Indiana, Illinois and
so on: there was no sectional party
then. 1t was not until the republi-
can party was born, in the year 1856,
| believe; it was not until that par
tv was born that sectional lines were
drawn, that geographical lines were
drawn, and the people on one side of
the line began to form into the party
and those on the other side into an
other. But the real consolidation
of the South, as it is called, did not
take place until the end Of the civil
war. What then occurred ? The
Supreme Court of the United States,
delivering its opinion by the mouth
of Salmon p. Chase, declared that
this Republic was composed of an
indestructible general government
and OF indestructible sovereign
States. The general government
was indestructible and the States
were indestructible. That was the
decision of the Supreme Court of
the United States, delivered by no
less man than Salmon p. Chase.
But did the federal leaders in Con-
gress accept shat ?
SOUTHERN PREPoNDERANCE.
Mr.. Thurman then discussed the
alleged selection of members of the
House who were not lawfully elect
ed. He said:-
"Why, my friend Senator Sher-
man, if his speech is correctly re-
ported, in one of his late speeches,
said that there were many members
of Congress in the South in the
House of Representatives who had
no more right to be there than some
people who were not elected to the
Legislature of-Ohio. and who were
turned out. and had right to be,
In other words, they had no right at
all to be in that House of Repre-
sentatives. Now, if that is the case,
why is itthat Mr.. Sherman, who has
been so long in the Senate and oc-
cupied so prominent position in